Spring motor



June 3 1924. 1,496,572

fs. vvlLLENsl SPRING MTon Filed Nm/2.2. 192; :s snaps-sheet 1 Jupe s. 1924. 1,496,572

. WILLEN SPRING MoTon Filed Nqv, 22. 1921 3 vSl'ieets--Sheet 3 Patented June 3, 1924.

UNiTED STATES f GEORGE WILLENS, OFQIPADCAI-I, KENTUCKY.

SPRING- MOTOR.

Application filed November 22, 1921. Serial No. 516,973.

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that GEORGE VILLnNs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Paducah` in the county of McCracken and State of Kentucky, has invented certain new and useful improvements in Spring Motors; and hc does hereby declarethe following to be a fullj clear, and exact description of the in vention; such as will enable others skilled in the art to which .it appertains to make and My present invention relates to spring motors for soundjreproducing instrumen: tal ities and relates particularly to portable devices of this kind.

The invention relates )articularly tothe form and constructiono the spring motor case; to the motors for actuating theturntables of said instrumentalities and to the correlation of the several parts of the device, one with another.

These and such other objects as may here inafter appear are obtained by the novel construction; combination, and arrangement of the parts of my device to be hereinafter specifically described and claimed. Reference will now be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of my complete phonograph;

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the case thereof on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 showing the" actuating and governing mechanisms;

Figure is a horizontal section through the case along the line 3--3 of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a vertical section through the motor and its barrel;

Figure is a detail in horizontal section of the means for fastening the inner end ofl they upper motor spring;

'Figure G is a similar view of the anchoring means for the lowerspring;

Figure '7 is an end elevation of my reproducer;A a Y Y Figure S is a section on the line 8-8 of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a top view of the turntable support;

Figure 10 is a similar view of the turntable body;

Figure 11 is a horizontal section through the governor adjacent'its base;

Figure 12 is a detail; in ay vertical section, of the lower portion of said governor;

Figurel is av detail; partly in elevation and partly in section7 showing the connection between the governor spring and .the brake plate;

Figure 14 is a perspectiveof the two sections of the mechanismv case;

Figure 15 isa plan view of the blank for forming the upper section of said case;

Figure 16 is a similar view of the blank for the other section thereof; and y yFigure 17 is a detail of one end of the fastening means employed upon the upper motor spring. A

Like Vreference characters are used to In the embodimentv of my invention here- -in disclosed and described, a case 1; best shown in Fi gures 1, 2, 3, and 14, is provided, said case being formed from two sections ot sheet material, marked 1a and 1b illustrated as blanksin Figures 15 and 16. Dotted lines upon said blanks represent folds, while full lines indicate cuts through the material.

Blank 1a for the lower section of the case l shows anumber o-f spaced screw holes through which screws to firmly secure said section to a wooden base l disclosedin Figures 1 and 2, areinserted. VAs indicated in Figure 1e'. two of the sides of the case 1 are formed by' bending the inner portion of the material of 1a vertically upward.

The blank for the upper section 1b is rectangular in form with the longer edges per- ,pendicularly clipped at the extremities of the transverse folds made to. provide the tworemaining sides of case 1. Said section lb. when" folded, telescopes upon section 1a; the four extensions of material upon the sides being curved inwardly a half turn.

rfhe two long narrow extensions of the material of'llb disposed vat opposite sides of the top portion ofthe case l are first bent designate similar parts in the several drawupwardly, then outwardly, and finally lunder, to provide two substantially cylindrical rolls of material as indicated in Figures l and 14. Each extremity ofsection 1b has a narrow tongue, both of which are bent outwardlyand parallelV to the top of caseY l. One of these ktongues' is lcut away at its corners, as shown in several views, for ease of assembly. y

Preliminary to folding, and preferably concurrently with ythe stamping out of blank l", the apertures, disclosed inFigure l5.I for screws and projectingy parts, are' cntl or stamped. o

When assembly of case l is made, section ibis telescoped upon section l, (see Figure 14)', the tongues upon the former being hooked` beneath 'the latter from the inside. Inward distortion of the sides of section l is prevented by aslight projection of said sides intol the rolled material rat the side edges of thesection 1b, best shown in lFigure yl', while 'outward movement thereofl is arrested by engagement with the of this same rolled material. ,A const-ant cooperative relation exists between Rand section l when assembled for,.while thesides of the former are made rigid by engagement with the material of sectionlb in the manner just described, the sides ofsection l", b v abutment' with the vertical edges ofthe sides of the section la, are held vagainst inward displacement. Disposition of the'k tongues upon section 1b beneath section ,lu assure contact between the material ofsaid'two sections to arrest outward bulging of the sides formed from the material of section l,

Additional utility for `the rolled material of the top of case l will be disclosed later.

T 71e frame oir-plattform.

For disposal of the actuating mechanism of my device within the case 1,1 provide a posed upon the tongues 3a and secured thereto by screws inserted through said tongues from below; plate 2b is ysecured to the lower horizontal portions of the spacing members 3 by screws passing first through said plate 2? from beneath; and the whole frame ou latforni is vsuspended in the case 1 byscrews inserted from abovek through apertures in section 1*"v of said case, heretofore described, o

and into the upper horizontal sections of each of spacing members 3.

The motor.

The actuating means which l employ comprises superposed springs, Lik* and fl, best depicted in Figure et. The uppermost of these is engaged with a vertical shaft 5, having its ends journaled in plates 2a and 2". For

such engagement, employ an open ring clamping member 6, slightly wider than spring 47a and which may be readily formed by bending a flat strip of material having a notched or cut out end, such as is shown in Figure 17. Upon said shaft 5 is a swedged ear, slightly narrower than the notch in member 6. Then the member 6 is-placed upon shaft 5. it substantially surrounds said shaft and the notched end therein engages the swedged ear upon shaft 5 to prevent longitudinal displacement. TheV inner extremity of the spring la is folded back upon itself to providepa hook into which the opposite end of member 6 is inserted, thus securing` a positive but flexible connection betweenthe shaft 5 and spring 4J".

The outer extremity of spring la is secured to a barrel 7 enclosing bothisprings 45' and lb. by again folding the spring 1l to provide a hook formation= the folded back portion of the extremity being inserted through a slot cut in barrel 7 as is suggested .inv Figure 4. The spring la is thus secure-d to the shaft 5 and to the barrel 7 without screws or the weakening effectproduced by punching holes in the spring sin, and this connecting means has the added advantage of permitting slight play between thespring llf* and shaft without reducing the effectiveness ofthe connection therebetween.

interposed between springs el and el is a separator plate 7a, while the barrel 7 which has suitable base flanges 7". is closed at its lower end by a detached disk-like gear wheel 7.

The lower spring 4b is connected at its outer extremity to the barrel 7 in the same manner as spring 4a, the slot to receive the extremity of All preferably being disposed diametrically opposite to that provided for spring 4a. Internallysaid spring 4b is secured to a three spokedspider S, as is shown in Figure fl, by bending a section of the springeb backward around one of the spokes ofsaid spider 8, as indicated in Figure 6;

It will be noted that the spokes of spider Y thereto, will begin to revolve with said shaft y, winding spring hl" which is secured at its bearing for the former.

plate 2a and section 1b of the case 1.

Attention is invited to the fact that springr lb is attached at both extremities, asin the case of spring lia, without the use of screws or rivets, or the puncturing of the metal.

Springs ta and 4b, as they unwind, actuate the gear wheel 7C, which causes the turntable, later to be described,l to revolve.

The clamping member 6, in addition to securing the spring L,tato shaft 5, tends to prevent displacements of thebarrel 7 and acts as a spacing member between the top of the latter and the separator plate 7a. A'hub about shaft 5 for gear wheel 7C is formed byV .spider 8 to which springeb is secured, said spider 8 having the additional function of a spacing member between gear wheel 7c and separator plate 7a. A

Intermediate gear wheel 7 and frame member 2b and upon shaft 5 vis a loose collar 5a which acts as a spacing member between. said gear wheel and frame as well as a.

erlyj spaced relation between the several springmotor parts with a. minimum amount of friction therebetween. Y

l he turntable.

This member, designated 10, is disposed, as vindicated in Figure 2,'upon a shaft 9 journaled at its lower endin plate 2b, and rotates in circular bearings or apertures in A pin 9a' or collar disposed in or upon shaft 9 just below the point of its engagement with plate 2a prevents upward displacement of said shaft 9 which, at its lower portion 9b is lluted toform gear teeth meshing with those of gear wheel 7c of the spring motor.

At a slight incline froml the horizontal, a pin 9 is driven through the shaft 9 so that each end thereof projects a short distance as is indicated in Figure 2. It is by this pin 9c that the turntable proper 'Y 10 vis removably engaged to and upon` said shaft 9.

lThe turntable v10, detailed in Figure l0, comprises a circular disk of suitable metallic material having its edges Arolled over and under'and a number of concentric rings or ribs and small depressions'punched into its surface to aid in securing and maintaining general fiat-ness. v10, a layer of felt 10a is glued, and upon this latter a record 10bv is placed when itis vde-k sired to reproduce the same. Y A

Depending from the center of disk 10`is a spider 10c comprising, as is sho-wn in Figure 9, afilat central'circular portion and multiple radiating arms 10e having narrow tonguesinserted through and clinched upon the disk 10. A key-holeaperture lO'iscut in the flat portion of spider 1G", the circular portion of rwhich aperture admits the shaft VThe arrangement Upon this metallic diskr 9. l The vertical sides of the radial portion of said aperture 10engage with the upper exposed portion of pin 9c as the spider 10C rests upon the lower exposed portion of Vsaid pin, thus insuring the revolution of the-turntable 10 with the shaft 9 while allowing quick mounting and dismounting of the turntable 10. l

'The governor. Y

Having described the turntable of my de,-

vice and the manner of actuating saine,-the

means for obtaining a uniform and regulated speed of the turntable will now be disclosed, reference being had particularly to Figures 2, 11, 12, and 13.

My govern'orcomprises a shaft lijournaled in plates 2a and 2b upon which and at its upper end, a exible band of spring metal 12 is keyed at the latters middle point. Weights 12a are riveted orothei'wise secure- Vly fastened to said spring 12.

Mounted for reciprocal movement upon said shaft 11 is a hub or sleeve`13 tofthe i 12 are cut away atopposite sides as best'4 illustrated in. Figure 13, and when these ends are bent inwardly and inserted through the wide portion `of the slots in disk or4 plate 13?, they will, upenrelease, spring outwardly to v'become securely attached vto said plate 13a.

Shaft 11 is rotated by a train of gears com'- prising a large toothedv disk wheel 9d upon shaft 9 which wheel inesheswith a pinion 111L disposed upon shaft 11 intermediate two bevel edged guide members 11b, also secured upon said shaft 11 for rotation therewith.

The centrifugal force exerted by weights 12a will cause the flexible spring band 12 to spread horizontally, drawing upward as it spreads, the plate 1,3a to which it is securedl Thereforegto regulate the unwinding ofthe springmotor and the speed of the turntable, I provide an L shaped brake `member 14, se-

cured to one of uprights 3 by the extremity upon the upper surface of disk 13a adjacent i to its.- circumference. Y l

Toregulate the tension of shoe 14a upon Ydisk '13, threaded bolt 15, best inserted Athrough one of the uprights 3 threaded to receive it, isemployed. Saidbo'lt'l is 'disposed' so'thatits inner end engages the kbrake member 1 4 on the latters short side adj aceiit i ub' lll) its juncture Vwith the long side thereof,`so

that slight inward movement of the short sidef "produces ani exaggerated downward bottom o-f which is aflixed a circular.plate-im or disk 13a'.` In the latter, nea-i' its center,"

lock nut 15b.

` bolt 15, by tightening nut b, with its end abuttingcase section 1.

The motor is slowed and stopped by rotating the handle 15a clockwise,the limit of rotation being fixed by the engagement of the right hand army of 15 with case section 1. T o free .themotor, the handle 15a is, of,`

course, revolved in a counter clockwise direction.v

The winding` mechanism. For winding the motor, a bevel gear 5 is keyed to shaft 5. A horizontally disposed windingV shaft 16 having 'ar bevel gear 1Ga in mesh with gear wheel 5b is gjournaled in vertical tongues 2 formed by bending material cut from plate 2a as indicated in Figures 2k and 3. Theyshaft 16 is secured' against reversed revolution by a'lockspring Y16b anchored to a vertical tongue .2d also formed from material cut from plate 2a. will be noted that the bending ofthe material of plate 2 to form the end bearing for shaft 16 provides an aperture through which gear Wheel 16a rotates while in mesh with gear 5. i

The outer end of shaft 16 which is, subistantially, in engagement with case 1, is provided with a sleeve internally threaded to receive a crank 16 having'at its extremity a freely moving grip piece of the usual form. By rotating the crank 16 in the one direction in which it will turn, it rotates the shaft 16 to wind the spring motor; when force is exerted either by the spring motor or manually to reverse the shaft 16, `spring lock 16 iirmly grips the said shaft about its circumference, preventing suoli displacement.

T he reproducen The sound reproducing mechanism which kl employ is illustrated in Figures 1, 7 and 8. Thisy comprises a cylindrical case 17 having a centrally disposed enlarged ring portion 17, one end of said case lbeing open, andthe other end being made with an integrallyk formed apertured` plate provided with acentrally disposed reduced cylinder' 17b'leading therefrom as the sound passage. T o this latter, 17, the horn 18 issecured by a rubber washer 18, the end sections of which are enlarged as best indicated in Fig.- ure `8.

i The-disk diaphragm 19 is securely mounted in case 17 intermediate an inner rubber ring 19 engaging the flat end and curved wall of said case, and a larger rubberring 19b firmly seated in the enlarged portion, 171 of said reproducer case.

At the center, the diaphragm 19 is slightly apertured to receive theupper end of stylus 20.. This latter comprises a flat vertical portion of greatest width near its bottom, provided with a wing part 20 fitting snugly about the reproducer case 17, said wing 20 having bendable end projections 2Ob adapty ed to be inserted through apertures in the wall of reproducer case 17 and bent along the inner periphery thereof. An inwardly pointed section 20 of said stylus having an upper outer lug and an inner lower lug is.

inserted into the aperture in said diaphragm so that the vibrations of a needle.Y 21 carried by the stylus 2O are communicatedto said diaphragm 19, the diaphragm being moved o outwardly by the pull of the upper lug,`and inwardly by the push of the lower lug, on section 20. As is best shown in Figure 8,

.the needle-21 is' held in a seat in stylus 2O by the thumb screw 21. Said needle seat is formed by parallel slitting of the material of stylus 20, bending the portion between` the slits, which carries thumb screw 21a in one direction, and that adjacent to, above and below, said slits in the opposite direc- Ytion to admit the needle 21 from beneath but to arrest its upward insertion at a point slightly above the upper slit.

The reproducer case 17 is suspended upon the case 1 by a two-piecev arm, the under section 22a being inserted into one of the rolls of material formed at opposite sides of the case section 1b and heretofore described. Section 22 at its upper extremity terminates in a reduced portion 22 about the middle point of which is a cylindrical collar 22. The upper section 22i of the arm is 'secured to the reproduc-er case 17 at an angle and at its free end is hollow to form a cylindrical stem 22 with its walll slightly thickened inwardly at it-s outer eX- tremity. Section 22 loosely`A encloses the reduced portion -22b of section 22. While the two sections 22"' and 22d are easily separated manually, section 22d is not prone to f be accidentally displaced from section 22 because of the engagement of the thickened section of stein 22 with thc collar- 22.. the increased friction therebetween being particularly noticed when 22a and 22d are` separated at a very slight angle.

It will be noted that the under surface of horn 18 is, by

so that its lower side is parallel with the turntable 10; also, that the outer end of the horn 18 is cut on a line parallel with the vertical. sides of case 1. Additionally, the

horn 18 and reproducer case 17 are-directlythe means herein described, held by the angle of the reproducer case 17 connected and the arm supporting the latter admits of free movement of the stylus 20 about the record without the interposition of the uumerousand cumbersome parts ordinarily employed. i

lllhat I claim is new and desire to secure by Let-ters Patent of the United States, is:

l. In a spring motor, a revoluble barrel, a Winding shaft, having a swedged ear intermediate its ends, superposed springs Within said barrel and connected thereto at their outer extremities, a gear disk mounted for free rotation upon said shaft and to Which the lowermost yof said springs is connected, and a clamping member comprising a strip of metal recessed at one end and bent to surround said shaft, the uppermost spring being folded back at its inner extremity to hook upon one end of said clamping member, the other and recessed end of said clamping member engaging said swedged ear whereby to prevent accidental linear and rotary displacement of said barrel.

2. In a spring motor structure, the combination of an inner casing and an outer casing, said inner casing comprising an upper and a lower plate, and a plurality of vertically disposed spacing members connecting said plates and projecting above said upper plate for suspending said inner casing from said outer casing, the connection of said upper plate to said spacing members comprising lugs struck` out from said spacing members, a spring motor. shaft mounted in said plates and provided with a gear,.a horizontal winding shaft providedwith a gear meshing with the first mentioned gear, locking means for preventing reverse rotation of said Winding shaft and lugs struck up from said upper plate and constituting respectively bearings for said winding shaft, and means for holding said locking means in operative position with respect to said Winding shaft.

3. The structure as set forth in claim 2, in Which the upper plate is disposed between said winding shaftand the gear on said vertical shaft, and the gear on said winding shaft passes through the aperture resulting from striking up of the respective one of the said lugs.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature.

GEORGE VILLENS. 

